Thomas Jonathan Jackson
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1939) is a Lieutenant General in the Confederate States Army. He held command of the Stonewall brigade, aswell as the Second corps of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) He is a devout Christian and also an instructor at Virginia Military institute (VMI). Early life Birth and Childhood Thomas Jackson was the third child of Julia Beckwith (née Neale) Jackson (1798–1831) and Jonathan Jackson (1790–1826). Thomas's sister Elizabeth (age six) died of typhoid fever on March 6, 1826, with two-year-old Thomas at her bedside. His father also died of a typhoid fever on March 26. Jackson's mother gave birth to Thomas's sister Laura Ann the day after Jackson's father died. In 1830, Julia Neale Jackson remarried. Her new husband, Blake Woodson,10 an attorney, did not like his stepchildren. The following year, after giving birth to Thomas's half-brother, Julia died of complications, leaving her three older children orphaned. Jackson and his sister Laura Ann were sent to live with their uncle, Cummins Jackson, who owned a grist mill in Jackson's Mill. Their older brother, Warren, went to live with other relatives on his mother's side of the family, but he later died of tuberculosis in 1841 at the age of 20. They spent four years together at the Mill before being separated—Laura Ann was sent to live with her mother's family, Thomas to live with his Aunt Polly (his father's sister) and her husband, Isaac Brake, on a farm 4 miles from Clarksburg. Thomas was treated by Brake as an outsider and, having suffered verbal abuse for over a year, ran away from the family. He walked 18 miles through mountain wilderness to Jackson's Mill, where he was welcomed by his uncles and he would remain there for the following seven years. Mid Life Early Military Career West Point In 1842, Jackson was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Because of his inadequate schooling, he had difficulty with the entrance examinations and began his studies at the bottom of his class. Displaying a dogged determination that was to characterize his life, however, he became one of the hardest working cadets in the academy, and moved steadily up the academic rankings. Jackson graduated 17th out of 59 students in the Class of 1846. It was said by his peers that if he had stayed there another year, he would have graduated first. US Army and Mexico Jackson began his United States Army career as a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment and was sent to fight in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. He served at the Siege of Veracruz and the battles of Contreras, Chapultepec, and Mexico City, eventually earning two brevet promotions, and the regular army rank of first lieutenant. It was in Mexico that Thomas Jackson first met Robert E. Lee. During the assault on Chapultepec Castle, he refused what he felt was a "bad order" to withdraw his troops. Confronted by his superior, he explained his rationale, claiming withdrawal was more hazardous than continuing his overmatched artillery duel. His judgment proved correct, and a relieving brigade was able to exploit the advantage Jackson had broached. In contrast to this display of strength of character, he obeyed what he also felt was a "bad order" when he raked a civilian throng with artillery fire after the Mexican authorities failed to surrender Mexico City at the hour demanded by the U.S. forces.15 The former episode, and later aggressive action against the retreating Mexican army, earned him field promotion to the brevet rank of major. After the war, Thomas Jackson was briefly assigned to forts in New York, and then to Florida during the Second Interbellum of the Seminole Wars, during which the Americans were attempting to force the remaining Seminoles in Florida to move West. He was stationed briefly at Fort Casey before being named second-in-command at a small fort about 30 miles south of Tampa.16 His commanding officer was Major William H. French. Jackson and French disagreed often, and filed numerous complaints against each other. Jackson stayed in Florida less than a year. Virginia Military institute In the spring of 1851, Jackson accepted a newly created teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), in Lexington, Virginia. He became Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and Instructor of Artillery. Despite the high quality of his work – he spent a great deal of time preparing in depth for each class meeting – Jackson was unpopular as a teacher. His students called him "Tom Fool." He memorized his lectures and then recited them to the class; any student who came to ask for help was given the same explanation as before. And if a student asked for help a second time, Jackson viewed him as insubordinate and punished him. The students mocked his apparently stern, religious nature and his eccentric traits. In 1856, a group of alumni attempted to have Jackson removed from his position. Jackson's peculiar personal traits contributed to his unpopularity as an educator. With little sense of humor, he once tried to get a cadet dismissed from VMI for playing a prank on him. In November 1859, at the request of the governor of Virginia, Major William Gilham led a contingent of the VMI Cadet Corps to Charles Town to provide an additional military presence at the hanging of militant abolitionist John Brown on December 2, following his raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry on October 16. Major Jackson was placed in command of the artillery, consisting of two howitzers manned by 21 cadets. Civilian life peculiar personal traits Jackson held a lifelong belief that one of his arms was longer than the other, and thus usually held the "longer" arm up to equalize his circulation. He was described as a "champion sleeper", even falling asleep with food in his mouth occasionally. He was a hypochondriac who had sinus problems and arthritis and stood for long periods of time to keep his internal organs in place, a tiring activity that he believed contributed to good health. He rarely ate much food and often subsisted on crackers and milk. He required little sleep but was known to take catnaps. He relished mineral baths. Lexington Little as he was known to the white inhabitants of Lexington, Jackson was revered by many of the African-Americans in town, both slaves and free blacks. He was instrumental in the organization in 1855 of Sunday School classes for blacks at the Presbyterian Church. His second wife, Mary Anna Jackson, taught with Jackson, as "he preferred that my labors should be given to the colored children, believing that it was more important and useful to put the strong hand of the Gospel under the ignorant African race, to lift them up." The pastor, Dr. William Spottswood White, described the relationship between Jackson and his Sunday afternoon students: "In their religious instruction he succeeded wonderfully. His discipline was systematic and firm, but very kind. ... His servants reverenced and loved him, as they would have done a brother or father. ... He was emphatically the black man's friend." He addressed his students by name and they in turn referred to him affectionately as "Marse Major." Jackson's family owned six slaves in the late 1850s. Three (Hetty, Cyrus, and George, a mother and two teenage sons) were received as a wedding present. Another, Albert, requested that Jackson purchase him and allow him to work for his freedom; he was employed as a waiter in one of the Lexington hotels and Jackson rented him to VMI. Amy also requested that Jackson purchase her from a public auction and she served the family as a cook and housekeeper. The sixth, Emma, was a four-year-old orphan with a learning disability, accepted by Jackson from an aged widow and presented to his second wife, Mary Anna, as a welcome-home gift. After the American Civil War began he appears to have hired out or sold his slaves. Mary Anna Jackson, in her 1895 memoir, said, "our servants ... without the firm guidance and restraint of their master, the excitement of the times proved so demoralizing to them that he deemed it best for me to provide them with good homes among the permanent residents." James Robertson wrote about Jackson's view on slavery. Jackson neither apologized for nor spoke in favor of the practice of slavery. He probably opposed the institution. Yet in his mind the Creator had sanctioned slavery, and man had no moral right to challenge its existence. The good Christian slaveholder was one who treated his servants fairly and humanely at all times. While an instructor at VMI in 1853, Thomas Jackson married Elinor "Ellie" Junkin, whose father, George Junkin, was president of Washington College (later named Washington and Lee University) in Lexington. An addition was built onto the president's residence for the Jacksons, and when Robert E. Lee became president of Washington College he lived in the same home, now known as the Lee-Jackson House. Ellie gave birth to a stillborn son on October 22, 1854, experiencing a hemorrhage an hour later that proved fatal. After a tour of Europe, Jackson married again, in 1857. Mary Anna Morrison was from North Carolina, where her father was the first president of Davidson College. They had a daughter named Mary Graham on April 30, 1858, but the baby died less than a month later. Another daughter was born in 1862, shortly before her father's death. The Jacksons named her Julia Laura, after his mother and sister. Jackson purchased the only house he ever owned while in Lexington. Built in 1801, the brick town house at 8 East Washington Street was purchased by Jackson in 1859. He lived in it for two years before being called to serve in the Confederacy. Jackson never returned to his home. The Civil War Battles in which Jackson took part Great Train Raid of 1861, Battle of Falling Waters, First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), Romney Expedition, Jackson's Valley Campaign, First Battle of Kernstown, Battle of Front Royal, First Battle of Winchester, Battle of Port Republic, Seven Days Battles, Battle of Gaines's Mill, Battle of Savage's Station, Battle of White Oak Swamp, Battle of Malvern Hill, Northern Virginia Campaign, Battle of Cedar Mountain, First Battle of Rappahannock Station, Manassas Station, Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas), Battle of Chantilly, Maryland Campaign, Battle of Harpers Ferry, Battle of Antietam, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg Campaign, Bristoe Campaign, Mine Run Campaign, Bermuda Hundred Campaign, Wilderness Campaign, Richmond–Petersburg Campaign, Battle of Lynchburg, Valley Campaigns of 1864, Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, Appomattox Campaign Units under his command Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, 2nd Virginia Infantry, 4th Virginia Infantry, 5th Virginia Infantry, 27th Virginia Infantry, and the 33rd Virginia Infantry Later part of life After the war With the Confederates beat the union army at Appomattox, The war ends. Jackson returns to Lexington after retiring from military service. He continues to teach at VMI. His wife dies in 1930, He remarries to a Norwegian woman named Elsa. He has 2 kids with Elsa, one boy named Jonathan and a girl named Annabelle, Named after Elsa's sister, Anna. His wife's sister is married to a union lieutenant named James A. Ryan. Jackson and James become close friends, eventually Reenlisting together during World war one. A recall to Arms: World War 1 Jackson served during WW1 and was present at the battle of the some, He lead a briliant flank attack agenst the german and austrian armies, and thus, ends the war agenst the Axis empire "Let us cross over the river..." Jacksons Death Jackson finishes ww1 and is placed in command position of the CS Army durring WW2, he is present at Operation market garden but gets shot by a German sharpshooter. He is survived by his family and his friend james. More info on Jackson Physical Ailments suffered a significant hearing loss in both of his ears as a result of his prior service in the U.S. Army as an artillery officer. A recurring story concerns Jackson's love of lemons, which he allegedly gnawed whole to alleviate symptoms of dyspepsia. General Richard Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, wrote a passage in his war memoirs about Jackson eating lemons: "Where Jackson got his lemons 'no fellow could find out,' but he was rarely without one."51 However, recent research by his biographer, James I. Robertson, Jr., has found that none of his contemporaries, including members of his staff, friends, or his wife, recorded any unusual obsessions with lemons and Jackson thought of a lemon as a "rare treat ... enjoyed greatly whenever it could be obtained from the enemy's camp". Jackson was fond of all fruits, particularly peaches, "but he enjoyed with relish lemons, oranges, watermelons, apples, grapes, berries, or whatever was available." Religion Jackson's religion has often been discussed. His biographer, Robert Lewis Dabney, suggested that "It was the fear of God which made him so fearless of all else." Jackson himself had said, "My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed." Stephen W. Sears suggests that "Jackson was fanatical in his Presbyterian faith, and it energized his military thought and character. Theology was the only subject he genuinely enjoyed discussing. His dispatches invariably credited an ever-kind Providence." However, according to Sears, "this fanatical religiosity had drawbacks. It warped Jackson's judgment of men, leading to poor appointments; it was said he preferred good Presbyterians to good soldiers." James I. Robertson, Jr. suggests that Jackson was "a Christian soldier in every sense of the word." According to Robertson, Jackson "thought of the war as a religious crusade," and "viewed himself as an Old Testament warrior – like David or Joshua – who went into battle to slay the Philistines."Jackson encouraged the Confederate States Army revival that occurred in 1863,although it was probably more of a grass-roots movement than a top-down revival. Jackson strictly observed the Sunday Sabbath. James I. Robertson, Jr. notes that "no place existed in his Sunday schedule for labor, newspapers, or secular conversation." Command Style In command, Jackson was extremely secretive about his plans and extremely meticulous about military discipline. This secretive nature did not stand him in good stead with his subordinates, who were often not aware of his overall operational intentions until the last minute, and who complained of being left out of key decisions. Robert E. Lee could trust Jackson with deliberately non-detailed orders that conveyed Lee's overall objectives, what modern doctrine calls the "end state". This was because Jackson had a talent for understanding Lee's sometimes unstated goals and Lee trusted Jackson with the ability to take whatever actions were necessary to implement his end state requirements. Few of Lee's subsequent corps commanders had this ability. At Gettysburg, this resulted in lost opportunities. Thus, after the Federals retreated to the heights south of town, Lee sent one of his new corps commanders, Richard S. Ewell, discretionary orders that the heights (Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill) be taken "if practicable". Without Jackson's intuitive grasp of Lee's orders or the instinct to take advantage of sudden tactical opportunities, Ewell chose not to attempt the assault, and this failure is considered by historians to be the greatest missed opportunity of the battle Horsemanship Jackson had a poor reputation as a horseman. One of his soldiers, Georgia volunteer William Andrews, wrote that Jackson was "a very ordinary looking man of medium size, his uniform badly soiled as though it had seen hard service. He wore a cap pulled down nearly to his nose and was riding a rawboned horse that did not look much like a charger, unless it would be on hay or clover. He certainly made a poor figure on a horseback, with his stirrup leather six inches too short, putting his knees nearly level with his horse's back, and his heels turned out with his toes sticking behind his horse's foreshoulder. A sorry description of our most famous general, but a correct one." His horse was named "Little Sorrel" (also known as "Old Sorrel"), a small chestnut gelding which ironically was a captured Union horse from a Connecticut farm. He rode Little Sorrel throughout the war Quotes of Jackson Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow; for an army routed, if hotly pursued, becomes panic-stricken, and can then be destroyed by half their number. The other rule is, never fight against heavy odds, if by any possible maneuvering you can hurl your own force on only a part, and that the weakest part, of your enemy and crush it. Such tactics will win every time, and a small army may thus destroy a large one in detail, and repeated victory will make it invincible.78 —Jackson to General Imboden To move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of victory, is the secret of successful war.79 —Jackson, 1863 The only true rule for cavalry is to follow the enemy as long as he retreats.80 —Jackson to Colonel Munford on June 13, 1862 War means fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to live in camps, but to find the enemy and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time. This will involve great destruction of life and property while it lasts; but such a war will of necessity be of brief continuance, and so would be an economy of life and property in the end. The time for war has not yet come, but it will come, and that soon; and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard. My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. ... That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.